208
In going to Jerusalem to attend his last Passover, what route did he take?
Luke: “He passed through the midst of Samaria” ([xvii, 11]).
Mark: He “cometh into the coasts of Judea by the farther side of the Jordan” ([x, 1]).
Two entirely different routes. As the province of Samaria lay between those of Galilee and Judea, the direct route from Galilee to Jerusalem was “through the midst of Samaria.” The orthodox Jews, however, in order to avoid the Samaritans, whom they thoroughly despised, usually crossed the Jordan, which formed the boundary of the three provinces, came down on the east side of the river through Perea, recrossed the river, and thus entered “into the coasts of Judea from the farther side of Jordan.”
209
What city did he pass through on his way to Jerusalem?
Luke: “And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho” ([xix, 1]).
Luke here contradicts his previous statement that “he passed through the midst of Samaria,” for Jericho was not on the route from Samaria, but on the route from Perea by way of “the farther side of Jordan,” the route which Mark declares he took.